Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a combination cyclonic separator, multi-stage filter and pump within a housing and more particularly to such a device which is adapted for use in back yard ponds or the like.
2. Background Art
Water gardening has become increasingly popular wherein homeowners have small ponds, typically in their back yard. A major problem in water gardening is keeping the water in balance. Debris such as leaves, sticks and animal wastes make this very difficult. Traditional pond vacuums remove water from the pond, thus causing the need to add large amounts of water back into the pond and potentially disrupting the water balance.
In water gardens, one of the biggest challenges is removing heavy or large debris. Larger debris is very hard to remove because it can clog a pump. If a pump is used that chops up the debris, then it is harder to separate the debris from the water.
Consequently there is a need for a pond vacuum, which overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages.
The present invention relates to a combination cyclonic separator, multi-stage filter and pump within a cylindrical housing disposed around a vertical axis. A fluid inlet in a bottom cyclonic separator portion of the housing causes the water to circulate, with greater flow on the outside of the housing than on the inside thereof, thereby causing debris suspended within the water to accumulate closer to the inside and bottom than to the outside and top of this portion of the housing. A plurality of plates are disposed above the cyclonic separator, causing the flow to pass between a first plate and the inner wall of the housing and through an opening in the inside of the second plate. These plates serve as part of a second stage of filtering large particles. A third plate, disposed above the second plate, forces water between the periphery of the third plate and the inner wall of the housing to complete a preferred embodiment of the second stage of filtration. A filter media is interposed in the housing after the second stage and catches finer particles suspended in the water. A pump is disposed in the housing above the filter media and has, preferably, another filter on the inlet thereof.
The present invention thereby removes the debris without chopping it up or clogging the pump. This permits the use of a much less expensive pump. It is also easier to filter out the larger particles of debris than it would be to capture small particles. Also, the inlet to the housing is larger than the outlet of the pump, thereby causing the inlet to be at low pressure and low flow, thereby being less turbulent than, for example, the pump outlet. It is therefore possible to vacuum up small living animals and not fatally harm them.
The large intake hose allows high volume/low pressure flow into the housing. The curvature of the housing allows the fluid stream to create cyclonic action in Stage 1, Level 1 of the cleaning process. This forces the heavier material to converge in the center where water is the slowest and cleaner water is forced to the outer edge. In Stage 2, Level 2, fluid is pulled from the outer edges of Level 1, the cleanest part of the fluid in Level 1. The liquid then passes between the first filter disc, and the inside of the housing, inside of the second filter disc and then outside of the third filter disc. These filter discs act as a physical barrier to the larger pieces of debris, such as leaves.
When the liquid leaves the Level 2 multi disc filter, it encounters a Level 3 which is a filter media such as a medium density foam disc. When the liquid stream comes in contact with this medium density foam, it is slowed and dispersed through the foam. This causes additional debris to become trapped within the foam disc.
Remaining debris particles are further filtered by a filter material wrapped around the pump inlet. Consequently when the fluid enters the pump and is expelled out of the housing and back into the original pond, it has been effectively filtered before passing through the pump and thereby completing the cleaning cycle without losing any valuable fluid.